Ok, so as stated in the subject I'm a brand new hunter. I'm 18 and I live in Auburn, Alabama. I recently bought a Savage MK II .22 LR and a Mossberg 817 .17 HMR. I've never been on a "real" hunting trip, except with hawks and falcons. I plan to become a falconer when I graduate, and have a few friends that are currently falconers. When I was 9 or 10 I used to kill birds etc with my pellet rifle and can occasionally pick off a squirrel in my back yard with my air rifle here in Auburn. I just aquired my hunting license a few days ago and am thinking about taking day trips to Tuskegee National Forest which is only about 15 miles from where I live. I figured I'd start with small game such as squirrel, rabbit, coon, and beaver. I basically just want to hunt whatever is around so I can get the feel for hunting, and I just had a couple questions. This is going to be a long post, so I apologize for that in advance and greatly apprecaite anyone's help.

Ok, first, I would like to know if anyone has actually hunted on Tuskegee and if they have what it's like. I've read online that rabbits and squirrel are pretty abundant, which is good because that's what I want to hunt. I just want to hear form someone with experience.

Second, I would like to know which would be the better rifle to take hunting. Both rifles are bolt action and both have scopes. The .22 has a BSA 4x32mm I believe and is sighted at 50yds, and the .17 HMR has a Simmons 3-9x40mm and is sighted at 75yds. The .17 HMR, is of course, much more accurate than the .22 at ranges exceeding 100-125yds. Even so I favor the .22 for a couple reasons a) ammo is cheap and I doubt I'll be shooting anything more than 100 yds away and b) I don't want my game to explode when I shoot it. I've heard that depending on the ammunition a .17 HMR round can blow a squirrel in two, which is what I don't want. In addition, I would also like to know what is prime game for each rifle. From what I've studied a .22 is good for most of the stuff I want to hunt, and the HMR can be acceptable for rabbit, groundhog, beaver, fox, and possibly coyote.

Third, I would like to know how to field dress a squirrel and rabbit. I would also like to know if the squirrel hide is worth keeping, and if it is, what makes it worth keeping. I would also like to know how to treat and preserve hides. I'm not too fond of squirrel meat, so I'll probably end up giving it to one of my falconer friends so he can feed his bird when he doesn't have time to take it out or when the bird is in molt.

Lastly, I would like to know what the appropriate gear to take hunting would be, and any other advice or knowledge anyone would like to impart to me. I currently have a camoflauge jacket, and possibly pants depending on how cold it is, a hunger orange mesh vest, binoculars, a rifle (of course), a swiss army knife, a sharp skinning knife, and a gps. Two things I specifically want advice about are what is something appropriate to carry the kills in, and what is something that would be useful to carry extra ammo in. I've heard that leather tobacco bags and related simlair things can be good for ammo, as well as "dice" bags. I just want some more experienced opinions.

Oh, as a side note, due to my previous experience with falconers and many hours spent watching and reading about squirrels and rabbits I know their habitat fairly well and can generally recognize good hunting spots. I'm definitely no expert, but I just thought I'd throw that in there so I don't waste anyone's time.

Please, please, PLEASE tell me anything else I may need to know, and to those of you willing to read this whole thing I greatly appreciate it, and thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out.